Boeing also built commercial hydrofoils. The board gave the go ahead in 1972 for the JETFOIL program. The Boeing JETFOIL (Boeing Model 929) was designed for passenger comfort at high speeds. It gave passengers a smooth and fast ride, and its three narrow struts created a fraction of the wake that a ship of its size would normally make. It was also as quiet as a conventional auto ferry. With a stopping distance of 500 feet (152 meters) and a turning radius of just 645 feet (196 meters), it was easy to maneuver the 90–foot-long (27-meter-long) ship through congested waterways.

The standard configuration of the JETFOIL accommodated 250 passengers. but design flexibility allowed variations for up to 350 seats. The JETFOILs were powered by a pair of Allison gas-turbine engines that each drove a Rocketdyne waterjet pump, which propelled the 115-ton (104.32-tonne) vessel at speeds in excess of 45 knots (51.8 mph/83.3 kph). Boeing built 24 of the JETFOILs, all at the Boeing Renton, Wash., plant, for service in Hong Kong, Japan, the English Channel, the Canary Islands, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.